Improvement in fruit-boxes



- 2 Sheets Sheet l. JAMES SHEPARD.

Improvement 'in Fruit B0.xe s

No. 123,941, Patented Feb. 20,1872.

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2 Sheets--Sheet 2. JAMES SHEPARD. improvement in Fruit Boxes. No. 123,941. Patented Feb. 20, 1872.

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PATEN' FFIGE.

JAMES SHEPARD, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN FRUIT-BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,941, dated February 20, 1872.

Be it known that I, JAMES SHEPARD, of Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Fruit or Berry Box, of which the following is aspecification:

My invention consists of a new and improved berry-box, the body of which consists of a single piece of veneer or thin wood, having flaps bent up to form the sides, and bound at the top by arim or band, as l" ereafter described.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box which embodies my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blank from which said box is formed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a blank from which a six-sided box embodying my invention is formed. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a six-sided box formed from said blank and Fig. 5 is a top View of the same.

A designates the portion of the veneer which forms the bottom of the box, and B the flaps which form the sides thereof. For a square box, (Sheet 1,) I out the blank in the form shown in Fig. 2. Asmall crease or scoring, a, is out upon all sides of the bottom A, for the purpose of bending up the flaps B at said scorings to form the sides of the box. Care is taken to have the grain of the wood run diagonally with the bottom, so that the scorings a shall all of them run more orless transversely to said grain; or, in other words, so that none of the bends at said scorings shall be parallel with the grain of the wood, and thereby break or split the "eneer in bending up the flaps. The coarse broken lines in Figs. 2 and 3 represent the grain of the wood. If desired, I also make several small holes in the sides or flaps B for the purpose of ventilation. This blank may be cut, scored, and punched at a single blow in a power-press, or may be made by means of roller-dies, now in common use. By means of a suitable former, the flaps are bent up at the scorings a, and secured in place by nails through the edge thereof and the band 0. This band consists of two straight strips bent up so as to form an outer and inner hoop, between which is the edge of flaps B, as shown. For a quart box I cut the blank four and onehalf inches square at the bottom, with the adjoining portions of the flaps equal to one side of the bottom in lengtln'and two and seveneighths inches wide or deep, and four and three-quarters inches long at the outer or top edge, so that the box, when formed, will be a little flaring, as shown, and thereby nest into each other for transportation. Other sizes and proportions can be followed, if desired. The box shown on Sheet 3 is hexagonal, but otherwise is like that on Sheet 1. The bottom A is whole or solid, and is scored upon every side for bending up the several flaps B, the same care being taken in cutting the blank to have all scorin gs a cross the grain of the wood, as shown in Fig. 3, and when formed it is secured by the band C in the same manner.

A few of the advantages of my invention are, that, by making the box proper of a single piece of wood, it can be made with less labor and at less cost than ordinary boxes; that the scorin gs and bends upon every side of the bottom prevent it from warping and twisting out of shape; and that the bottom has a smoother surface than that of ordinary boxes, whereby it is not as liable to be caught and tear up, and is therefore more durable.

I claim as my invention A fruit or berry box, the body of which consists of a single piece of thin wood or veneer, with the grain of the wood running diagonally with the bottom, and having flaps bent up to form the sides, and bound at the top byarim or band, substantially as and for the purpose described.

Witnesses: JAMES SHEPARD.

F. H. CHURCHILL, F. L. HUNGERFORD. 

